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These are the 10 best breweries in the world, according to RateBeer’s users
Consumer beer website RateBeer has announced the world’s 100 best-loved breweries of 2017.
The website, owned by beer giant AB InBev, released its list of the best brewers of 2017 this week, based entirely on the views of the general public.
The summarisation is based on ten different weighted scales that place an emphasis on reviews of the past year and top performing beers but also includes historical all-around performance, a brewer’s range of performance across styles, and other factors to compare newer and older, larger and smaller brewers under a single method of processing.
Keep scrolling to see the 10 most influential independent breweries in the world, according to beer fans the world over.
10. Evil Twin Brewing
Evil Twin is a “nomadic brewery” originating in Denmark. Founded in 2010 by Jeppe Jarnit-Bjergsø, Evil Twin produces limited-edition and one-off beers as well as a series of seasonal and year-round beers available internationally.
Evil Twin’s brewers are known for collaborating with US drinks makers and aren’t afraid of experimentation. In August 2017, the independent producer teamed up with Virginia brewery Veil to launch Fried Fried Chicken Chicken — an 8% IPA made with Enigma, Citra and Simcoe hops and brewed with real pieces of fried chicken. Yum…
9. Mikkeller
Starting out in Copenhagen, Denmark, in 2006, Mikkeller now has sites in countries including the US, Japan, Singapore, Spain and Germany.
Though it doesn’t operate an official brewery, it is headquartered at its bar in Copenhagen, and co-founders Mikkel Borg Bjergsø and Kristian Klarup Keller collaborate with other brewers to produce their recipes or experimental one-off brews.
During its history, Mikkeller has released 800 different beers in a wide variety of styles. While many are in constant production, some are only available seasonally, in small batches, or certain locations.
8. Cigar City Brewing
Founded in 2007 by former Tampa Bay Times beer writer Joey Redner, Florida brewery Cigar City focuses on a roster of higher-abv IPAs, pale ales and white ales produced year-round, but also sells darker beers such as stouts to coincide with local festivals.
7. Other Half Brewing
Born out of Brooklyin, New York City, Other Half is a brewery favoured amongst Wall Street’s financial elite. Sam Richardson, Matt Monahan and Andrew Burman launched Other Half in 2014, and since then have collaborated with breweries in New York, across the US and internationally.
Other Half is known for its creatively-named imperial IPAs and stouts, as well as its sleek, minimalistic branding.
6. Omnipollo
Omnipollo, a Swedish “gypsy” style brewery similar to Mikkeller, was founded in 2011 by Henok Fentie and Karl Grandin and brews its experimental beers all over the world.
Omnipollo exports its beers to around 20 markets in Sweden and beyond. “Our largest market after Sweden is the U.S., where we work very closely with our importer,” Fentie told Bloomberg in 2015.
Despite not having an official brewery, the pair recently opened a pizza bar in Stockholm in collaboration with Swedish company Pizzahatt.
5. Cycle Brewing
Pints of Fixie IPA are just $3 tonight. pic.twitter.com/eq2usbxTjt
— Cycle Brewing (@CycleBrewing) December 16, 2014
Another Florida brewer to make the list was Cycle, which narrowly beat rival Other Half to make it into the top 5.
A traditional microbrewery through and through, Cycle Brewing’s Facebook page advises customers that cash is preferred at the taphouse. Guests can take beer away with them, with the option of buying a growler or “crowler” (a canned two-pint container) from Cycle’s range of merchandise.
4. AleSmith Brewing Company
Starting out life in a small single-unit space in San Diego 1995, AleSmith is the oldest brewery to make it into RateBeer’s top 10.
“Grand master” beer judge Peter Zien bought the brewery and became its brewmaster in 2002, and since then has gone on to open a second, larger brewery and tasting room for visitors.
Alesmith is no stranger to accolades on the consumer website, earning a place in the top 10 world brewers ranking both in 2006 and 2013.
Zien is also known for international collaborations, and in 2015 handed over the original brewery to Danish outfit Mikkeller, transforming it into one of the European drinks maker’s US outposts.
3. Trillium Brewing Company
Boston-based brewery Trillium was launched in 2010 byJC and Esther Tetreault, and has since become known for its creative products and collaborations with fellow brewers.
Trillium’s brewing processes are inspired by a farm-to-bottle mentality, experimenting with wild yeast and barrel ageing, and are also known for experimentation. One of its most recent launches, Pow Pow Double IPA, combined regular hops with Lupulin powder — a concentrated hop product made by flash freezing and then shattering intact hop flowers.
A new flagship brewery and restaurant is under construction in Boston’s Fort Point district, with plans to open later this year.
2. Cloudwater Brew Co.
Hailing from Manchester, England, Cloudwater are known for making a range of highly-rated IPAs and one of the most influential independent breweries in the UK.
Launched back in 2014, the urban brewery has climbed up from fifth place last year, when it was the first UK brewery to make RateBeer’s top 10.
Commenting on the victory, Cloudwater’s director Paul Jones wrote that he had initially expected the brewery to drop out of the top 10 altogether.
“That we’ve climbed from 5th last year to 2nd this year is a complete surprise,” Jones said.
“We started the year by evaluating, from memory, all the beers we brewed last year…It was a great exercise in analysing which beers stood out for their bold, positive impact, and which were beers we now looked back upon in shame.
Looking to the future, Cloudwater’s brewery boss said that “2018 is centred around anything it’ll be ensuring we look back this time next year even happier with our beer.”
1. Hill Farmstead Brewery
This year’s winner is reigning champion Hill Farmstead Brewery, which has held the top spot for five consecutive years.
Hill Farmstead Brewery was established in 2010 by Shaun Hill in Greensboro Bend, Vermont, and is world-renowned due to its exclusivity and small-scale production. Many of its beers, including American pale ales, IPAs, saisons and stouts, regularly reach the top of RateBeer’s consumer rankings.
The most extensive range of Hill Farmstead’s beers is on offer at its own taphouse, which features 6-8 draft lines and limited release bottles, but die-hard fans will need to make a trip to Vermont in order to find a bar serving up drinks from this elite brewery.